2008’s Cloverfield is a gem of a movie, which plays with trope and cliché to create a science-fiction/horror film that reinvigorated the ‘found footage’ genre when it was released almost a decade ago. Among the tropes and clichés with which it toys are those of sexism and racism, and the way in which the two intersect in cinema – proving that it certainly is possible for a white male director (Matt Reeves), and a white male screenwriter (Drew Goddard) to deliver an interesting film that challenges the pop culture status quo.

The film opens with some establishment of the central conceit – that we are watching video footage that now belongs to the U.S Government. The camera walks through an impressive Manhattan penthouse that overlooks Central Park, and we hear the...